Scout Investments Inc. Makes New $6.48 Million Investment in MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI)

Scout Investments Inc. bought a new position in MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 65,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,477,000. Scout Investments Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of MGP Ingredients at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 698,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,804,000 after acquiring an additional 17,967 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 594.5% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 19,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,875,000 after acquiring an additional 16,290 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al bought a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients in the third quarter worth $2,985,000. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 66,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,579,000 after acquiring an additional 5,013 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services bought a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients in the fourth quarter worth $221,000. Institutional investors own 77.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on MGPI shares. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on MGP Ingredients from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com lowered MGP Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients in a report on Monday, April 29th.

Insider Transactions at MGP Ingredients

In related news, Director Donn S. Lux sold 22,000 shares of MGP Ingredients stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.50, for a total transaction of $1,815,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,673,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,544,280. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Donn S. Lux sold 10,000 shares of MGP Ingredients stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total value of $830,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,695,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $223,706,912. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Donn S. Lux sold 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.50, for a total value of $1,815,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,673,264 shares in the company, valued at $220,544,280. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,430 shares of company stock valued at $2,836,678 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

MGP Ingredients Stock Performance

NASDAQ MGPI traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $73.14. 131,106 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 163,735. The company has a current ratio of 6.32, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. MGP Ingredients, Inc. has a one year low of $71.86 and a one year high of $124.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.67.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $170.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.31 million. MGP Ingredients had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The company’s revenue was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. Analysts expect that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 6.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. MGP Ingredients’s payout ratio is 11.09%.

About MGP Ingredients

MGP Ingredients, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and supply of distilled spirits, branded spirits, and food ingredients in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Distillery Solutions; Branded Spirits; and Ingredient Solutions.